Domestic abuse has long been a hushed conversation taking place in offices or whispered telephone callers. It is the leading cause of injury to women 15-44 years old, with a woman abused every 15 seconds.

According to statistics, one in four women experience violence. An estimated 40 to 60 percent of police calls involve domestic abuse or violence.Before a senior can graduate from high school they must complete one final community service project. Zachary Dykas of Albrightsville chose to focus on helping raise awareness about domestic abuse before leaving the Jim Thorpe Area High School."I wanted to let other people know this is a problem. It's not really ever talked about," he said."Once I really started researching I found it was a bigger problem than people know about. There are more animal shelters in the country than domestic abuse shelters. I was shocked. It's a ratio that shouldn't be lopsided," he said.Dykas partnered with the Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corporation to organize a household item drive for the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence center in the county."My mom (Colleen) is an ambassador for the chamber. She is the one who told me about the center. She has a good heart and wanted to do something for them but work is busy so I wanted to used it for my senior project. I thought, 'Why don't I take the opportunity to help out the community," he said.The mission of the PCADV center is to eliminate personal and institutional violence against women through programs providing support and safety to battered women, direct services, public information and education, systems advocacy and social change activities by providing a multitude of services.The association provides services including 24-hour counseling, referral and information, a safe shelter women and children, support groups and advocacy for personal help with legal and court systems, and housing referrals.Dykas began collecting household items to donate to the center in May, and the collection has continued to grow well after his June graduation."I never expected to get close to what I have now," he said of the clothing, toiletries and baby supplies."I think there are a lot of really good people out there willing to help," said chamber Executive Director Marlyn Kissner."We're just the connectors. We hope it's going to help a lot of people," she said of the project.Dykas' project took a month to organize before he presented it to his supervising teacher Jeffery Getz."The first thing I did was research the issue. I wanted to make sure I knew about it completely," he said."I felt like I got more educated on the issue. I knew it was a problem, but it doesn't get presented like other issues do. You see the Dallas shooting on the news but there's never stories about abuse on the news unless it's happening to a celebrity."The next step was to contact the center for ideas on how he could help the women and raise awareness."I tried to get in touch with the center. That was the hardest part," he said.The location is held in secret for the safety of those who seek asylum from the domestic abuse they are suffering."When I heard about it, I was surprised we had a center. You could pass it and not even know it," he said."When I called the center and told someone I wanted to do the drive they were surprised and really thankful," he said.Dykas set up a donation box in the South Street chamber office and the donations began to roll in.The donation box will remain at the chamber office for future donations."Hopefully once this is over people will be more aware," Dykas said.Items needed include blankets, towels, women's pajamas, sweatpants, sweatshirts, underwear, socks, toiletries, diapers and wipes, bed and crib sheets, pillows, silverware, first aid supplies and used cellphones.All items must be new with the exception of cellphones. All donations can be dropped off at the chamber office on South Street in Lehighton.If you or someone you know needs help escaping abuse, call 800-799-7233 or go to

www.pcadv.org.